Settler and masked soldier allegedly break into Hebron mosque, disrupt call to prayer

PA says pre-dawn incident, in which attackers reportedly played Hebrew songs through mosque loudspeakers, is part of an attempt to stamp out ancient city’s Arab and Muslim identity

A masked soldier and a settler allegedly broke into a mosque early Friday in the southern West Bank city of Hebron, where they hung up Israeli flags, disrupted the Muslim call to prayer and played Hebrew music through the loudspeakers, Palestinian officials said.

Tawfik Jaabri, the muezzin — the mosque official who performs the call for prayer — told Palestinian media that he opened the Al-Ras Mosque before dawn on Friday, as usual, to summon worshippers for the early prayer.

“Suddenly, a masked soldier and a settler entered the mosque,” he was quoted by the Ma’an news agency as saying. “The soldier threatened me directly, using his weapon to stop me from moving, while the settler used the mosque’s external loudspeakers and played loud Hebrew songs from his phone.”

“The soldier and settler retreated from the mosque after a while, and when I exited, I was surprised to see they had put up Israeli flags on the walls and doors of the mosque,” he said.

As a result of the attack, Jaabri was unable to perform the call for the early prayer, he said, according to Ma’an.

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A video clip included in the Hamas-linked Quds News Network’s report on the incident indicated the attackers played Israel’s national anthem, Hatikva, through the mosque loudspeakers. Another shot in the report appeared to show a masked soldier in a tactical vest outside the mosque before dawn.

مستوطنون يقتحمون مسجداً ويبثون الأغاني منه في حارة الجعبري، بمدينة الخليل. pic.twitter.com/rJMWWJDHFW

— شبكة قدس الإخبارية (@qudsn) June 26, 2026

The Palestinian Authority’s Endowments and Religious Affairs Ministry said the attack was part of a broader push “to Judaize the ancient city of Hebron and stamp out its Arab and Muslim identity.”

The PA ministry called on UNESCO and the international community to “intervene immediately to halt these violations.”

The IDF did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Settler attacks on Palestinians take place on a daily basis in the West Bank, often with the tacit approval or active participation of IDF soldiers, including settlers tasked with protecting their own communities as part of the IDF reserves.

The attacks, which have spiked since the Hamas-led onslaught of October 7, 2023, are rarely prosecuted. However, six teenagers were indicted Friday on terror charges for allegedly attacking Palestinians in the Ramallah area earlier this month, including setting fire to a mosque with worshippers inside.

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